Making the decision to refinance your home mortgage can be difficult and confusing. There are so many different kinds of refinances to choose from, and learning about the benefits and disadvantages of each can cause headaches. In addition, mortgage lenders will seemingly tell you anything you want to hear in order to get you to sign with them for your new refinanced loan. Making decisions about home finances can be difficult with this kind of pressure, and you want to make sure that you are making the best decision that will ultimately provide for yourself and family.

There are many different reasons why you might be or should be considering a mortgage refinance. When you refinance your home, you are changing the terms of your loan so that you are benefitted in some way. You might be interested in taking advantage of the lower mortgage interest rates that are available since the economic downturn several years ago. If you choose to refinance, your interest rate will be lowered and more of your payment will be used to pay off principle and not interest. This
will allow you to maintain the same monthly payment as before but will let you pay off your loan much more quickly. In addition, certain financial circumstances may have enabled you to afford to make a higher monthly payment on your home. Refinancing will allow you to write these new terms into you loan. Not setting new parameters for your loan can end up costing you in hidden fees in penalties if you try to pay more than you are required. If you are able, you may want to consider refinancing your loan for a shorter term, such as a 15 year versus a 30 year mortgage. Shorter loan terms mean higher monthly payments, but carry significantly lower interest rates.

Refinancing is also a great option for people who are remodeling their home or who are consolidating their debts. Refinancing for a higher amount than is owed on your home can enable you to withdraw the extra cash and use it to pay off construction costs. If you are currently struggling with finances, you can also refinance and use the extra cash to pay off other debts. The term of your home loan can then be extended so that the monthly payment is lowered. This usually increases your interest rate, but
allows you to save money each month by paying a lower premium.

If you are interested in saving money on your home or freeing up some cash to make home repairs or pay growing bills, learn more about the mortgage refinance rates in your area and see if you could benefit from a mortgage refinance.

Dealing with finances for your small business can be a complicated task and may seem overwhelming, especially once you start dealing with contracts, payroll, and insurance coverage. Streamlining your finances and financial records can help you save money and resources for your business, and with a simplified system, you will find your finances are easier to organize.

Here are a few tips to simplify your finances and reevaluate your budget costs.

Go Paperless. Many companies hold on to unnecessary paperwork, which can complicate filing systems. Keep only the statements you need and shred the rest. This will also save on office space. Consider keeping as many transaction online as you can. Also, consider instituting software to handle other transactions, such as contracts. Companies, such as Contract Logix, offer programs to electronically manage the different stages of the contract agreement – from negotiation to tracking.

Manage Your Bank Account. Compare business checking accounts and their features, and find one that suits your unique business needs. Business checking accounts usually allow online bill pay for transactions, and it will keep a record of the transactions. Consolidate all of your accounts into one institution to simplify financial records. Arrange an automatic transfer of certain funds every month to your companies savings or investments accounts. This allows your business to stick to a savings plan to keep a consistent investment.

Think Outside the Box. There are some ways to simplify finances that slightly unconventional. For instance, consider switching the work schedule to a four day week. This will cut back on the number of payroll sheets to calculate. Also, for smaller jobs, instead of hiring full-time employees hire from a temp agency.

These tips will not completely simplify your finances, but they will point you in the right direction. Organizing is key to making your finances easier to navigate.

OR

This morning I am looking at two stocks–Coach, Inc. (COH) and Aeropostale (ARO). With some reservation about the potentially inflated price of many retail stocks right now, I am still considering purchasing COH or ARO. Because of recent downgrades, both stocks have taken a beating over the course of the past few weeks while others in the same industry have done well. This type of trading environment is where I like to get into the market.

Coach, Inc (COH)

The graph above illustrated the price of Coach, Inc. over the past year. As you can see, the second half of 2010 was very good! However, despite talk of huge international growth opportunities, Coach, Inc. has seen some downgrades by financial institutions, causing some concern about current price levels. Is Coach, Inc. one of the retail stocks everybody thinks will decline with the inevitable retail stock pullback?

Who knows?! I, however, would get into Coach, Inc. at these levels to take advantage of a potential short-term pop. Could these lower prices be the result of a sell-off?

What do you think?

Aeropostale (ARO)

Aeropostale (ARO) has had a very volatile 2010. As you can see in the above graph, March and April pushed the price from the low 20’s into the low 30’s; however, shortly thereafter, August killed a lot of the growth in price. I bought in several times after that, taking advantage of some lower prices through September and October. But, again, as you can see, the stock hasn’t really made any real moves since then.

Other stocks in its same industry like The Buckle (BKE) and Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF) have been performing extremely well over the past several months. Aeropostale and other stocks like American Eagle (AEO) have struggled. I see real short-term opportunities at these levels. Even If I could get in and see a 2 – 3% gain over the next couple of weeks, I would be happy.

As the above chart indicates, 2 years ago we were paying roughly $1.65/gallon for gas. Now what are we paying? According to this graph, the average price of gas in the United States has rises to over $3.00/gallon! If this trend continues, we will be paying twice as much for a gallon of gas than we were 2 years ago. These kind of spikes make many of us wonder how to lower gas prices.

Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, has 3 main suggestions on how to lower gas prices. Check it out!

So Newt suggests the following:

1. Punish the speculators: Many in the media are pointing fingers at speculators that are lining their pockets with earnings from oil price increases. Market manipulation, according to many, is what is pushing the prices of gas up. So what can be done? Maybe we do a better job regulating the oil markets? Who knows.

2. Utilize the oil we have: If the United States tapped into its vast oil reserves and started doing its own drilling, world oil supply would increase dramatically. As a result, prices may fall. Or would they?

3. Research and develop alternative energy sources: Nobody can argue that alternative energy maybe the long-term solution to our issues. How to lower gas prices may only be a question of how quickly we can find alternative sources to oil. But is has to be cheap! Hybrids and electric vehicles are not cheap; as a result, many are deterred from using them as a viable alternative.

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What are your thoughts on Newt’s suggestions. Do you have any of your own? How are we going to lower gas prices?

Over the past 2 years, we have seen a dramatic increase in the average priced paid for gasoline in the America. In fact, as shown in the graph above, on January 3, 2009 (exactly 2 years ago), gas prices were in around $1.65/gallon. Now? We’re over $3.00/gallon! So here’s the question: who controls gas prices?

Supply and Demand

To be honest, the question “who controls gas prices?” may not actually be the right one. It’s no so much “who” but “what” controls gas prices. Our US government isn’t responsible for putting price tags on the gas pumps; believe it or not, Chevron, Shell, BP, and other gas stations don’t have as much control over prices as you might think.

Certainly supply and demand play a role in pricing all products–oil is no different. Simple economics states that as demand increases, prices increases (assuming supply doesn’t move); additionally, if supply decreases and demand stays the same, price will also increase.

So are those factors at play here?

China, India, and World Oil Needs

So who controls gas price? Well–many in the media are citing China, India, and other expanding economies at a large reason for increasing gas prices. Why? Because of these countries economic expansion, many say that they are the reason for increased demand. And, again, as mentioned above, an increase in demand often leads to an increase in prices, assuming an increase in supply doesn’t follow.

BUT–listen to this: according to an article in BusinessWeek, this argument pinning rising prices on China and India could be false. Read this quote:

In 2008, China was importing 3.671 million barrels of oil per day, and that figure jumped to 4.096 million barrels in 2009. Through the first 10 months of 2010, China imported 4.74 million barrels per day. U.S. importation of oil, on the other hand, dropped from 10.1 million bpd in 2005 to just 9.1 million bpd in 2010. And in the last 90 days, we’ve imported only an average 8.55 million bpd. True, Chinese demand for oil is up by 1 million barrels per day, but U.S. demand for imported oil has fallen nearly an identical amount over a slightly longer period of time.

So, yes, demand in places like China is increasing; however, with the decrease in oil needs within other countries (like the US), should that really be why gas is rising? Who controls gas prices?

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Who Controls Gas Prices?

For more information about who controls gas prices and why they are increasing, consider the following articles: